By Rivkela BrodskyOf the Journal
"Get your knit on."
That's the message written on a chalkboard behind the counter at the newly opened Yarn Store at Nob Hill.
And that pretty much sums up the idea of the shop, opened Oct. 5 by Teresa McDowell at 120 Amherst NE.
"The goal is to get the neighborhood knitting," McDowell told the Journal during a tour in early October of the 1,500-square-foot space. "It lowers stress and increases alpha waves."
McDowell learned to knit as a girl, but quit at age 8 or 9, she says. She picked it up again last year after working as a counselor, dabbling in accounting and being a mom.
"It was a very selfish endeavour," she told the Journal about opening the store. "After 41 years of not knitting, I wanted to build a shop where I could buy yarn and not leave the neighborhood."
She spent $7,000 remodeling the former bookstore at Amherst near Campus NE that she stocked with $70,000 in yarns — of all weights and made of a variety of materials — and decorated with $25,000 in furniture and decor.
The store sells supplies for knitting, crocheting and spinning. Needlework items are coming to the store this month.
McDowell said customers should visit the shop with a wish list as she is open to selling "anything the community wants."
The Yarn Store at Nob Hill also offers space for knitting groups and classes. Groups are welcome to meet at the store during business hours, McDowell said. Classes also start this month. You can grab a schedule at the store or check out the shop on Facebook.
Hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Yarn Store is closed Monday. Call 717-1535 for more information or e-mail teresa@theyarnstoreatnobhill.com.
A website is coming soon. Ares Wargames
Sean Scott has always had a passion for gaming and war.
He's been gaming since he was young — even selling a story line he wrote for Dungeons & Dragons when he was a kid — and after graduating from Eldorado High School in 1995, he attended West Point.
There, he was struck by lightning and was pronounced dead on an operating table before doctors were able to revive him. He recovered from severe burns and the loss of an right eardrum to graduate in 1999 and serve as an armored calvary officer in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and Germany before his honorable discharge in 2004 when he moved back to Albuquerque.
Now he's turning his passions into a local business venture. With some assistance from the New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services, Scott, along with some investors, opened Ares Wargames on Oct. 16.
Named for the Greek god of war, the store is 4,000 square feet of games, games and more games.
A former American Home call center, the store at 3301 Menaul NE Suite 18 sells a range of games — collectable card games, board games, role playing games, network video games, tabletop miniatures and others in historical, fantasy and sci-fi genres.
After undergoing a $30,000 remodel, Ares Wargames features two private rooms for role-playing games with white board tables; a media lounge with two 55-inch flat screen TVs that you can rent at $5 per hour to play Wii, Xbox and PlayStation games; a network gaming room featuring eight computers, each with a panoramic console set up that can be rented for $4 an hour; and a main gaming area with six gaming tables. The store also sells miniatures and paint. The store will offer painting classes and put on tournaments, Scott said.
He said the shop is designed to offer a social gaming experience.
"This is like 'Cheers' for gamers," he told the Journal. "They come here and every body knows their name."
Scott said he hopes to turn the business into a retail chain and is working on a business plan for a game manufacturing distribution company called Sandia Games.
Ares Wargames hours are Sunday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, visit www.areswargames.com or call the shop at 798-2595. Kap's
Kap's is back at Alvarado and Central NE.
After closing in 1984, the eatery at Alvarado and Central NE has returned thanks to owner Nick Kapnison. He has owned the building at 5801 Central NE since 1970, running it as a 24/7 eatery until 1984, when he began renting the space to other restaurant operators.
Seferino's, a New Mexican breakfast and lunch restaurant, leased the space for the past four years before recently deciding to consolidate to one location in Rio Rancho, Kapnison told the Journal during an Oct. 18 interview at Nick & Jimmy's — a restaurant Kapnison owns with partners Jimmy Daskalos and Nadine Martinez-Daskalos.
Kapnison, who owns Kap's on his own, decided to keep the restaurant open and operated it as Seferino's until he brought back the Kap's name a few weeks ago.
The eatery has been using the Seferino's menu, adding some specials and reduced prices, Kapnison said. A new menu featuring New Mexican and comfort foods will be unveiled soon.
Kap's is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day for breakfast and lunch. For more, call 232-9658. On Garduño's
Those same three folks have purchased the Garduño's at 10551 Montgomery NE for an undisclosed price and plan on transforming the 11,000-square-foot space into their own New Mexican eatery.
They haven't named it yet or put a menu together but an estimated $850,000 remodel will begin soon and they plan to open in April or May.
"It's a landmark building. It's been there a long time," Nadine Martinez-Daskalos told the Journal. "We'll keep some of what it is but we want to make it our own."
She said the restaurant will serve affordable New Mexican fare, have mariachis, host events and more. They expect to hire 65 employees. Check here for updates. Send me morsels of retail and restaurant news by phone at 823-3820 or e-mail at rbrodsky@abqjournal.com.